I'll Cover You
A Newsies Fan Fiction
By Lemony Apple
I think they meant it when they said you can't buy love
Now I know you can rent it, a new lease you are my love
On life, all my life
I've longed to discover something as true as this is, yeah
So with a thousand sweet kisses,
If you're cold and you're lonely
I'll cover you
With a thousand sweet kisses,
You've got one nickel only
I'll cover you
With a thousand sweet kisses,
When you're worn out and tired
With a thousand sweet kisses
When your heart has expired
--"I'll Cover You (Reprise)" from RENT
"You're fired!"
Those were the last words my boss said to me that day he forced me to go home.
"You're fired!" It was so convenient that he fired me right when I needed my job at the factory the most—at the end of the month—rent time.
"Whaddaya think, Jesse?" I said to my dog after taking a long drag on my cigarette. "Do you think we can pay our rent this month?"
Jesse whined pitifully for such a big dog. I understood his whine.
"I agree, baby." I put the cigarette to my lips and inhaled once more. I released a long plume of smoke into the night air, and it curled into intricate shapes and forms before finally being absorbed into the dirty atmosphere of New York City.
"I don't think so either." Jesse rested his muzzle on my leg and I buried my fingers into his warm, yellow fur. He was soothing.
All my life, Jesse had been my constant companion. We never left each other's sight. He had been, well, sort of like my father. I had never known my parents. I grew up in a squalid orphanage, and then after running away, I found Jesse.
We'd been living in a horrible one-room shack ever since. And now it was the end of the month-- time to pay the rent.
I was hardly making ends meet as it was… and now, it was almost certain that we would be living out on the streets. I needed to find some way to get some cash, fast.
"TROLLEY STRIKE DRAGS ON FOR ANOTHER DAY!" A newsie with an eye patch shouted from down below. Someone bought a paper from him, and boy continued to shout out the day's headline.
Normally I would have ignored the annoying sounds of the Newsies, but this time the din gave me an idea. It was a relatively simple job, selling newspapers, it made money, and also, it was a job. It would allow me to keep Jesse close to me.
So what if Newsies were only boys? I could pretend to be a boy. It wouldn't be hard. I wanted to be an actress, after all.
So those were my reasons for dressing up like a boy the next day.. and becoming a newsie.
AUTHORS NOTE---
Hehe.. hey guys. Sorry this chapter was so short… but you gotta remember, it's a prologue, 'kay? I swear, the next chapter will kick butt! Yah! So… okay, please be kind?
AND REVIEW?